Relationships Between Walton, Victor and the Monster in FrankensteinBenjamin Keni Cook Piiru

Beneath the most obvious plot line in Frankenstein lies a more subtle relationship between Walton, Victor and the monster. The three characters are very closely linked; their existence depends on one another. Walton represents the youthful desire for knowledge inherent in man, while Victor and the monster represent the moral compass for Walton to use in his scientific endeavors.

Robert Walton makes only a few appearances throughout Frankenstein, in the form of letters to his sister, Margaret. We begin to see very early on, from his first letter, that he is driven to make a name for himself in discovering the cause of magnetism, pave the way to the Pacific, or set foot on uncharted lands. He feels entitled, in fact, to a discovery, telling his sister that he deserves to “accomplish some great purpose” because of the lengths it took to make it as far as he had (3). This thirst for knowledge is paralleled in both Victor and in the monster. Victor finds “continual food for discovery and knowledge” in his scientific studies (30). Victor is farther along his studies than Walton into his, but stopped short of being able to fully understand the results of his experiment. Like a neglectful parent, Victor cast his creation to the winds...